Recipe Re-blog #30

Watermelon Martini: Summer, how I love you so. You provide so many fresh fruit and vegetable dishes. Not much beats fresh fruit in the summertime. I could eat it all day. I even mix it in my martini. If you've had a watermelon-tini out at a restaurant, it probably tasted syrupy sweet. This used to be totally fine with me, until Art Smith changed it all. You would not believe how fresh this drink tastes, and how easy it was to blend up. I didn't have lemon vodka so I used plain vodka and then squeezed in some lemon juice. The only problem with this drink is that it goes down so smooth. Vodka is the only liquor that can give me a terrible headache. This may be a problem.

Summer Melon Thyme Sipper http://www.erinsfoodfiles.com/2011/07/summer-melon-thyme-sipper.html: I am generally not a fan of whiskey but I thought I could get behind a drink that might mask the flavor of whiskey. I should have known, nothing masks the flavor of whiskey. Unless you like the stuff to begin with, skip this one.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken: I was cooking my books with this entree. It comes from Rachael Ray's 365, No Repeats cookbook. I looked high and low and didn't find this printed anywhere online. Because I don't feel like re-typing, if you want it I'll send it to you. Just ask. This was decent but it had quite a few ingredients and a lot of steps for an evening when my sous chef and I were trying to squeeze in cooking around working out, showering and laundery. The ingredient part actually wasn't a problem since it's garden season but you'd have to buy a lot of fresh herbs. I really like her Orange Balsamic glazed chicken better which is readily available on her website. Try that one instead.

From Dead to Worse

I'm super excited that True Blood is back on HBO but it deviates from the book series a lot. I have trouble keeping both straight and then I really confuse myself. As I'm watching I think out loud, "Wait, I thought she got killed?" Then I remember that was the book and not the show. No matter. I like them both.

From Dead to Worse is the next book ( I lost count which one for me) in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. If you're keeping track, this book has nothing to do with anything that's happened in True Blood this far so don't worry about spoiling anything. Anyway, Sookie is back home from the deadly vampire summit where she has since not heard from her boyfriend Quinn, a weretiger. She is concerned for his well-being but also quite perturbed that he disappeared on her. Her witch friend Amelia is still living with her. Amelia has problems of her own when a witch higher-up contacts her about what she's done to Bob, human-turned-car.

The remaining vampires also find themselves in a bit of a quandary without a queen. Sophie-Anne eventually succumbed to her wounds from the summit. They must pledge their vamp allegiance to the King of Nevada and are apprehensive about what might come from that. Sookie's relationship with her great grandfather moves forward, albeit slowly. Eventually, Quinn resurfaces and we learn why he's been avoiding Sookie. Of course, this doesn't come without its own set of danger-creating consequences either.

This one was okay. Not the best, not the worst. But, I'm still looking forward to moving along in the series. I'm not sure how many books I have left but it's at least a few. Happy reading!

Rating: * * 1/2

Free and Easy Wall Art

One of the things that excited me so much about buying our first home was decorating it. Sure I'd decorated all my previous apartments but this would be more permanent and make me feel a lot more grown up. While decorating is great, it can also be quite a strain on the pocketbook. Fortunately, it doesn't necessarily have to be pricey if you can put on your resourceful thinking cap and get down to business.

I happened to have three of these 8x10 picture frames that I knew I could do something to to make them useable. I was glad to have hung onto them for quite some time. They were framing random old awards at my office that I never hung up. It's okay. You can be jealous that I'm an award winner.

Sweet frames

Using a sample can of paint that I already had, I painted over that brown frame and nasty gold inset trim. I forgot to photograph this part. You know what painting looks like, right?

Then, I purchased 3 solid green pieces of scrapbook paper that matched the color scheme in the master bedroom. Using other paint I already had, I painted a triptych of sorts. I also didn't take any pictures of this process. I'm such a thorough documenter. Instead, you just get the reveal. Lucky you!

Hopefully you can tell that it is a flowering tree branch with two little birdies sitting on the end. I'm not sure how I feel about it but I hung it up anyway because, though it may not look like it, I worked super hard on it. I'm no artist but I thought I could handle something relatively amateurish. I'm a bit concerned about the thickness of the frames. It might have more of an impact on unframed canvases but that would require the purchase of said canvas. For now, it'll do, eh?
I was going to take a full shot of the bed and artwork so you could see what it really looks like. However, our summer bedding doesn't match the artwork. Oops! So, it'll look better in the fall/winter. :) I want new summer bedding because I'm tired of what we're using, plus it matches the walls but none of the other room decor for 4-5 months out of the year. However, on the priority list, summer bedding ranks mighty low these days.

Have you been creating too?

Workout Woes

Guys, I think I am starting to suffer from exercise burnout. This is a problem because I have not yet reached my goals (more on that in a bit). I have been working out for 6 days a week for I don't know how long -- over a year certainly. I also, vary, sort of, my workouts because I know that keeps me motivated and is also important for weight loss and building muscle. Two days a week I go to zumba (which I have now been doing for 4 years - hard to believe), two days a week I run (which I have just upped my distance to 5 miles) and two days are devoted to various strength training of all muscle groups. You would think this variety would be enough to hold my interest. It's just, I don't want to slip into a lazy pattern and then BAM!, I'm not working out at all. I also don't really want to give up the activities I already do in order to incorporate yet another variety. See what I mean? Problem. I also don't want my workout buddy to lose his motivation. He's got a little more work to do health-wise and I know that we've only been successful because we've been successful together. Even if that means guilting the other into working out and out of eating the wrong thing sometimes.

Lately I've been wondering if maybe my body is just comfortable at this weight. How much would I really gain if I dialed back the intensity a bit and continued eating well? Of course, I'm not going to go off the diet deep end. I've been eating this way for so long now that it is completely my lifestyle. I wouldn't be comfortable picking up fast food for dinner instead of meticulously meal planning. I have a totally healthy body mass index according to the internet (valid source of information). Am I putting too much emphasis on my clothes tag or what the scale says? I have had a few people call me skinny. This was weird to hear and I think they were lying to me. So, am I already here, where I should be even if the scale isn't ultimately showing the number that I always wanted to see? Like a lot of women, it's very possible that I have a skewed body image. I may be much smaller than what I see in the mirror. I feel like that's normal though, to think that way. Don't your eyes immediately go to what you think are your worst flaws when under scrutiny?

From my heaviest weight, I am down (depending on the day) somewhere around 45 lbs. I know this is a huge accomplishment (no pun intended). I know what it took to get me here (someone calling me 'large' may have had something to do with the impetus) and to become healthy. I know that I won't backslide to that size because I feel awesome right now. Do I maybe need to take off a whole week from working out to really motivate myself to keep fighting the good fight? When I, not by choice, took 2 days off in a row from working out recently, I felt gigantic and I was really excited to get back to regular exercise. That may also have been the amount of cheese and sweets I consumed. If I have truly plateaued like I think I have, should I follow the advice of many experts and have a body reconditioning week? Not counting so many calories burned and calories consumed and just live life? What happens if I enjoy it too much? What happens if my inner thighs always meet just a bit more than I want them to?

Who can answer these questions for me?

20 and Counting

The Duggars!: 20 and Counting is the first book by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of TLC fame. Their TV show, 19 Kids and Counting, chronicles the lives of the Duggars and their 19 children in Akransas. It's been on for a number of years and the child total keeps rising. They live their lives frugally and without debt and follow strong religious beliefs and convictions that they instill in their children. As a fan of the show and because I know they have a second book out, I decided to check out their first one from the library.

The book delves much deeper into the Duggar backstory than we get from their show which was interesting to read about. They tell of their upbringing and how they met, plus the early days of their relationship when their family was just beginning. Even then, Jim Bob and Michelle were caring for 5 children under the age of 5 while running a used car lot and other businesses from their home. Their entrepreneurial spirit was interesting to read about and something that is not always showcased on TV. Michelle covers, in great detail, how they rule their roost, feeds all those mouths and keep everything running as smoothly as possible. Quite impressive!

If you are a Duggar fan, you'll like this book. I learned a lot even though I've been watching their shows and specials for years. If you have no clue who the Duggars are, you may still find this an enlightening read just learning about a family of this size. A fast read too, which I appreciated.

Rating: * * *

Recipe Re-blog #29

Even though it's been crazy hot in Ohio this week I'm continuing down the tracks on my bread train. And I threw in a couple other new recipes too. Watch out for this kitchen choo choo!

Baguette: I LOVE baguettes. OK, I really just love bread in general. I followed this recipe exactly and made 2 shorter loaves instead of 1 long one. I did not, however, bake for the full 30 minutes at 500 degrees. That seemed nuts to me! It probably ended up baking for about 20-22 minutes and it was perfect. Crusty on the outside, warm and chewy on the inside. Yum!


Pesto: I have been wanting to make pesto for FOREVER. Sadly, my basil crop never produced enough bounty for me to do so. Until now! My basil plants are out of control. Perfect opportunity! I picked a basic pesto recipe from the Food Network and let 'er rip. Well sort of. I don't have a food processor so I had to use my blender. Also, pine nuts are expensive, yo. I read somewhere you can substitute walnuts. This is true, but be warned, the color of your pesto will be less green and more sludgey from the brown skin on the walnuts. Also, the walnuts slightly overshadowed the basil flavor but it was still mighty tasty.

Grilled Tuscan Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon: I have had this recipe bookmarked in my Everyday Food by Martha Stewart cookbook for awhile now. Until this summer, we didn't have a suitable grilling area. John actually cooked this up for us. He followed it as written, I think. The thing that really helped the moisture of the chicken was all the lemon juice. Give this a try for a light summer grilled chicken. We served it with sauteed zucchini and summer squash.

P.S. Sorry for the non-hyperlink. I'm trying to fix that. Blogger and Internet Explorer in a fight and I'm stuck in the crosshairs. :( If the chicken one doesn't work, go to marthastewart.com and search the name of the recipe. You'll find it there!

500 posts!

Just popping in unexpectedly on a Friday to say, Ashley Sees, Ashley Does has surpassed 500 posts!! This boggles my mind. You know what else boggles my mind? When it's closing in on 11:00pm on a Friday and you tip-toe into the little hallway between the kitchen and garage so your husband won't hear you opening the container of gorgonzola and sneaking a few crumbles. Why? Because you're ashamed, that's why. Oh well, the gorg is worth it. And you'll just end up confessing these indiscretions in 10 minutes anyway.

Hey - you got watermelon in my beer

You guys. When you walk down the beer aisle of your local gourmet grocery store and you see a 6 pack labeled Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer, you chuckle at the name and then you scoff at what the can contains. But after that, you can't stop thinking about how it might taste. How it sounds gross but could be one of those beers that is so out there that it's insanely delicious. Because you've been pondering this taste for weeks, when your husband leaves you in charge of beer selection one fateful Friday you don't even question it. You make a beeline to the cute little box wrapped around six designer cans and smile on your way to the check out. At home, your husband will be the one scoffing. He is ruing the fact that he gave you the beer buying task this week, until he cracks a can for himself.

This offering, from the 21st Amendment Brewery, retails for $9.99 for said 6 pack. And, my friends, it tastes like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. No joke! It was so delightful and refreshing. It is the epitome of a summer beer. Light on alcohol content, mouth-watering on flavor. If you can find it, please try it. If you hate it, you are a loser.

A fan of fans

During the building process, for some inexplicable reason, the original owners of our home decided the two extra bedrooms upstairs did not need ceiling lights. I'll let you in on a little secret. One plugged in lamp in a bedroom is not enough light for much of anything. It's certainly not enough light to sew by and when your husband makes you buy those crazy lightbulbs that need time to "warm up" it's really not enough to do anything. High on our list of house priorities was the installation of electricity in the ceiling so that we might have not only light but also ceiling fans.


In my house growing up, we didn't have any ceiling fans. We did have window unit A/C and later whole house A/C so we were always cool and comfortable. It wasn't until I moved into what would be my last rental before purchasing this home that I really came to love ceiling fans. They are so useful! Do you remember on that TLC show Trading Spaces when all the designers promptly removed every ceiling fan they met? That always frosted my cookies. I am not one to need freezing cold rooms in the summer but a ceiling fan moves air nicely and lets us give our A/C a break every now and then when the temps drop a tad. Luckily, the master bedroom does have a ceiling fan and light. But, it soon came time to outfit the other two bedrooms.


Admittedly, we had no idea what this would cost. Although John has changed other light fixtures in the house, we didn't think we wanted to tackle cutting a hole in the ceiling and running wires and what-have-you with our novice electrical skills. Upon a recommendation from a friend, I called a local electrician. I honestly thought this project may cost us up to $1,000 to accomplish. I hear you laughing at me. If he had quoted me that price, I probably wouldn't have batted an eye. Foolish. Instead, he gave a flat rate of $100 per fan even before seeing the rooms. Yea hooray and SOLD! We headed out to the store to purchase two fans/rights (with remote, the master doesn't even have that!)


A few hours on a Saturday and we had fans! (Here is where I would normally post a picture but the spare bedroom is a mess and the sewing room will be posted later for a more exciting reveal -- we're talking paint, people!) Just in time for our first set of parents and summer guests' visits. I think they enjoyed not having to get dressed in the dark. I'm sure they enoyed the cool air the fan provided. This also means, we can now move forward on my sewing room! One step closer to not having my machine live on the dining table for the life of each project. Oh happy day!

Tomato harvesting

I have been not so patiently waiting for my garden to produce fruit. The herbs are coming along nicely and I've been able to use them in many recipes. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my tomatoes. There are lots of big green buys growing on the Jetstar hybrid tomato plant and lots of little guys on the cherry tomato plant but nary a red one for harvesting between them. Until now.....

Last night, I plucked three cherry tomatoes from my Sweet 100 that were ripe and ready. They popped right off the vine.

I don't really like tomatoes on their own merit but I decided I should try one since I did grow it myself. It was sweet, but still a bit tomato-y for my liking. John thought they were delicious. I can't wait until I have enough to make caprese bites or put them in salads and on pizza. The big guys were supposed to reach maturity in 60-70 days. We have just passed that threshold from when they went in the ground to I feel like they'll redden up any day now. We shall see!

If You Were Here

If You Were Here is Jen Lancaster's first attempt at fiction. I have previously read all of her memoirs and blogged about the majority of them too. These include Bitter is the New Black, Such a Pretty Fat, etc. and so on. I think there are 5 in total. Because I am a fan of her quick-witted tongue and she can usually get a laugh out of me, I picked up If You Were Here expecting the same results.

Mia, an author in Chicago, and her husband Mac have decided it is time to purchase their very first home. After years of renting, they have finally become fed up with the state of their current neighborhood and their landlord. Mia has an unhealthy obsession with John Hughes movies, a theme that carries throughout the book. When she realizes the house used as Jake Ryan's home in Sixteen Candles is on the market, she must have it....no matter what condition it's in. The rest of the story centers around the trials and tribulations of home improvement, and rebuilding. Mia and Mac's relationship is tested as their battle of wills come to a boil. Helping them through their journey is crazy cast of characters including a foreign grandma, shady contractors, overbearing friends, and the grave of John Hughes, which Mia visits regularly.

I wanted to like this really badly. As I said, Lancaster's memoirs always entertained me. As I was reading, I tried to decide if I would have liked Wish You Were Here more had I never read those memoirs. Mia was only a slightly veiled fictional version of Jen herself. It had some funny moments but I almost gave up a few times. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted to be able to write about it here and didn't think it fair to do so if I hadn't stuck it out for the entire book. You can skip this one. Sticker to her memoirs instead.

Rating: * 1/2

Recipe Re-blog #28

This was kind of a crazy week. Maybe you noticed my absence. Maybe you didn't. Either way, despite out of town visitors and a death in the family, I still tried a new recipe. The streak continues!

Baked Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Spinach: Doesn't that recipe title just sound healthy? I really like pasta meals that fill up an entire 9x13 pan. Because there are only two of us, these feed us for 3 nights, or 2 plus freezing. I love leftovers because as much as I love cooking, I don't like cooking dinner every single night. Our weeknight schedules are pretty full because we both have to work out and shower when we get home. If I threw in cooking dinner, we wouldn't eat until after 8:00 pm. Not good. What IS good is this recipe. Full of fiber! Especially if you use whole wheat pasta, which we always do. The spinach selection at Kroger wasn't looking so pretty so I substituted frozen chopped spinach instead. Plus it was cheaper! I thought it fit well with this recipe. We actually made this a night ahead and did the baking the next night. The recipe also gives instruction for freezing. This is a good, hearty, meatless meal. Cheap and easy to make. Who doesn't love cheap and easy?

All Together Dead

All Together Dead is the seventh book in the Sookie Stackhouse, or Southern Vampire Mystery, series by Charlaine Harris. I took a break from these for awhile because they're very light reads, though nice to interject in between the larger books to give your brain a break. The whole series would be a great beach read if you're so inclined. Perfect for the pool that is noisy with children because you don't really have to pay too close attention.

In the previous book, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Queen of Louisiana, wed and subsequently may have murdered her new husband King of Arkansas, Peter Threadgill. Thus, she must stand trial at the vampire summit to be held in All Together Dead. She has requested that Sookie travel in her entourage so that she might commandeer Sookie's telepathic skills. During the summit, there may be other humans who do no have Sophie-Anne's best interest at heart and Sookie is there to suss them out. Sookie's new shifter boy toy, Quinn, will also be in attendance, in a business nature as well as his company is planning the event. Tagging along are a number of other vamps including, of course, Eric and Bill. Bill and Sookie are not a couple in this book after she learned some disturbing news about their relationship in the previous book.

All hell breaks loose at the summit when vampires are suspiciously murdered left and right. It is clear someone is out to get a number of them and it's up to Sookie and her telepathic friend Barry Bellboy to find out as much as they can and aid in the safe-keeping of multiple vampire kings and queens. Who could be behind these dastardly plans? If you've read any of these, I'll give you one guess.

I liked All Together Dead because I appreciated the new setting. Things were getting old for me in Bon Temps. I also liked Sookie's interactions with the Queen and other vampires that are new to this series. I think I still have 4 books left which shouldn't take that long to get through. They're extremely fast reads but enjoyable all the same. Good guilty pleasures.

And lucky me, True Blood is back on HBO! The new season just started a couple weeks ago and already it is crazy good. There are some divergences from the books but they also provide interesting unexpected twists so it's okay. I also saw an interview with Alan Ball in which he said if you're a fan of the 4th book, you'll be happy with this season. YEA! I really liked the 4th book because Eric is loads better than vampire Bill. So, I'll be happy to see more of him this season.

Recipe Re-blog #27

I tried two new recipes this past one, one for over the 4th of July and one for a normal weeknight dinner. One a winner and one not so much.

Deviled Eggs: Believe it or not, I've never made deviled eggs and I L.O.V.E. them. John had never had one before and was skeptical until I reminded him that he likes egg salad. Duh. This recipe is from the Food Network's Sandra Lee and it was a winner. Super simple and tasty. Give it a try!

Asian Pulled Pork: I had really high hopes for this recipe. I already had the pork in the freezer just looking for a reason to defrost it. We like Asian flavors and we love crockpot meals. Unfortunately, this recipe fell a little short for me. It didn't get a sleeve in my recipe binder and I don't think I need to revisit it.

Bye Bye Vertical Blinds

I loathe vertical blinds with the passion of a thousand suns. I realize that they are practical in trying to cover large windows or sliding doors but they are so hideous I can't stand it. Our house has vertical blinds covering the double sliders heading from the dining area out to the backyard. Not only are they in a super visible area of the first floor of the house, but they were also not holding up to being slid open and closed every time Sadie needed to go outside. Thus, three of the slats had broken off at various points in the last 6 months. Yes, we could have just replaced them but why bother? I wanted them all gone anyway.

A couple weeks ago, I got my wish!

After filling the holes and painting over the patches, John installs the new rod, from the Martha Stewart line at Lowe's.

Yeah, I don't miss them either, Sadie!

The curtains are not permanent. I happened to have these hanging in another unused room and decided they would work for the interim downstairs. I like the color but the fabric isn't my favorite and I could stand to hem them a couple inches too. An added bonus of these curtains is that even though they're not thermally insulated, they help keep the dining area cool when the sun is beating through the glass doors. Those nasty vertical blinds never did that. Little by little, things are coming along.

Rugby to Halter

I get so inspired reading other blogs that upcycle clothing and yet I rarely attempt these sorts of projects myself. I think the only one I've ever undertaken was my ruffled wool Christmas skirt. I saved this long-sleeve shirt from John's Goodwill pile. Sorry, Goodwill shoppers. I distinctly remember it costing him $5.00 on the American Eagle clearance rack some years ago. There were a few different ideas floating around in my head and ultimately, I settled on a halter top. Probably because I love halter tops. Love them!

Let's get started!

Using a tube top from my closet as a guideline, I cut two rectangle accounting for seam allowance. I've forgotten to do that in the past. Forgotten seam allowance = a sad Ashley. I wasn't sure how I wanted to make the halter portion except that I purchased some white cording from Joann's months ago for this very project.

After stitching up the side seams to make a tube, I cut out a trapezoid-like shape for the top portion. I always thought it might make things a bit more interesting if I made the stripes vertical.

I stitched the top to the body and folded it down a bit to make the casing for the cording. The fit on the sides was a bit trickier than I thought it would be. There was a bit of re-sewing but I finally got it.


Ta-da! Free nautical halter top for me!

I like how long the halter top is. Isn't it the worst when you have to constantly yank your top down? I will be the saddest girl in the world when this white skirt dies. I could live in it!

A Breath of Snow and Ashes

My goodness this was a large book. It had over 1,400 pages and I read every one of them. So, since it took me 3 1/2 weeks to finish, just figure that I read 3-4 normal sized books in that time span and we'll call it square, okay?

A Breath of Snow and Ashes is the 6th book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. If you're still with us, keep going, I have a feeling the last one is going to be really good! However, if you haven't read any of them and do plan to tackle the series at some point, you should probably skip this review. The synopsis, for as long as this tome was, will be very brief because I simply can't cover it all succinctly.

Claire and Jamie are still trying to carve out their niche on Fraser's Ridge in a burgeoning colonial America. Brianna, Roger, and Jem are happy there and are even considering adding to their brood. However, Stephen Bonnet is still afoot and that concerns everyone. They're also trying to figure out if the snippet they read in a newspaper forecasting Jamie and Claire's deaths by fire will really come true, or if their time-traveling, all-knowing ways can help thwart their demise. You Ian and the others are still around as well. Lord John is back, as are Jocasta, Duncan Innes and some nuttiness with their staff. This book was chock full of kidnappings, murders and near murders, crazy baby daddies and much more all as the American Revolution swells around Fraser's Ridge and Jamie is forced to choose sides knowing what will come from Brianna and Claire's re-telling/foretelling of history. Sakes alive!

I liked A Breath of Snow and Ashes but it was a beast for sure. My fleeting paragraph above doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what happened but I figure if you're this deep into the series, you don't really need me to tell you what it's all about. And if you've never read any of them, then of course you wouldn't start here. The tough part about a book (and series) this large is that by the time I get to the end of a book, I've forgotten where it all began. That's the real reason my summary is lacking for detail. Admittedly, I'm not the best at recanting tales. Anyway, if you're thisclose to the end, keep going! If you haven't even cracked Outlander, start there.

Taking a slight fluff break before tackling An Echo in the Bone. Stay tuned!

P.S. Blogger has been hatin' on Internet Explorer 9 so I couldn't italicize everything I normally would have.

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you all the happiest of Independence Days! Have you been cooking out? Did you see or are you going to see fireworks? John and I had a backyard fireworks show from a couple streets over. It was great! Sadie disagreed. We also tried our darnedest to get our fire pit going so we could make s'mores. At posting, we were still making them in the microwave. But, fingers crossed tonight will be the night the fire actually starts and stays lit!

We went shopping and were semi-successful in our purchases though nowhere near successful in crossing any of the pieces of furniture we need off the list. We grilled out in the backyard. I finally made it back to the pool, and didn't burn! We drank beer (John requested Sam Adams because, "he was a patriot") and sangria and had a good old-fashioned time. I'm a bit sad not to celebrate with family though. I guess there's always next year.......

Recipe Re-blog #26

Halfway, halfway, halfway through 2011!! Can you believe that? Where did the first part of this year go? I'll tell you where......in my kitchen! I have made it 26 weeks of at least one new recipe a week.

Almost-Famous Rosemary Bread: Oh.My.Goodness! I have a new obsession. That obsession is baking homemade bread. Pretty much nothing beats hot bread straight from the oven. The reason this is almost famous bread is because it is a recipe-alike of the bread at Macaroni Grill. This recipe takes a bit of time and loving. You have to be patient and let it rise, twice. You have to trust that the 4 hours you put into it will result in the saltiest goodness you will put in your mouth. Is it strange that I absolutely love kneading my own bread? I have a bread maker that would take care of this labor intensive step for me but I chose to do it the old fashioned way. If I could knead bread all day long, I would. Knead bread and sew. I guess I should have been born in colonial times. If you've never made your own bread before, don't be scared. Just follow this recipe to a T and you'll be A-OKAY!